Feature

Searching for Bargains in Closed-End Funds

Closed-end funds are more suited to market timers than buy-and-hold investors. Four with attractive yields.

Closed-end bond funds have been on a tear this year, returning an average of 11% during the first half, including dividends, according to Closed-End Fund Advisors, a research group. The average yield at the end of June was 6.4%. Compare that with a first-half total return of just 5.4% for SPDR Barclays High Yield Bond (ticker: JNK), an exchange-traded fund that tracks junk bonds.